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Good Brain, Bad Brain

Scott Lynch, author of the outstanding Gentlemen Bastard sequence, writes here frankly and painfully about his ongoing battle with depression:

There is an unfortunate undercurrent of tradition and feeling in our society (in many societies, in fact) that prescribes guilt, shame, and stoic self-isolation for mental illness. I know this as well as anyone because I spent years buying into this myth myself. This is not to say that there aren't times in our lives when we need to summon up the courage and the will to take a risk, but you can't simply will yourself to not have a genuine illness. Part of really, truly dealing with depression consists of realizing that it is an illness, and it needs to be monitored and mitigated just like asthma or diabetes or any of a thousand other chronic ailments. It has no moral dimension. It doesn't care how bright and beautiful your positive thoughts are.

I send you good energy, Scott. My selfish desire for the third part of your trilogy was long ago replaced by the sincere hope that you climb your way out of the pit you find yourself in.